December 25, 2007 – KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE

11/27/2009

Today was Christmas. I bought Dad the game Catch Phrase, which he was so good at on Thanksgiving. I figure it’ll keep him mentally sharp, like how the experts suggest doing crossword puzzles after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. However, Dad didn’t seem to have time to properly digest and comprehend the gift before someone else was handed another present and the Christmas commotion continued.

It was obvious that Dad wasn’t keeping up with the action today, especially during the gift exchange. There was just too much going on at once – music, side conversations, tearing paper, a giddy grandchild, brightly-colored gifts, drink refills, video cameras, photography flashes… Understandably, Dad was acting very A.D.D.-like with all the surrounding stimuli. He was on overload trying to compute it all. But I have to hand it to him, he was in pretty good spirits, just a few steps behind everyone and every conversation. A little foggy almost. But we were all together and I kept focusing on that…

At the end of an amazing day with my family, for which I was so thankful, my husband picked a fight with me on the way to our car at midnight and I ended up going to bed sobbing, not understanding why he had to ruin such a nice day. I mean, just when I seemed to finally not be toppled over by my dad’s condition, he toppled me over anyway. I’m severely on edge and my insomnia is a bad as ever…